Project Shapeshifter to Revit Conceptual Design

After playing around with Project Shapeshifter, He has to say I am quite impressed. extremely complex geometrical forms can be created, which would take a considerable amount of time to replicate in Revit’s massing environment, as well as through visual programming in Dynamo. He wondered how one could utilize these Project Shapeshifter forms in Revit and started defining a workflow.

The first images below will demonstrate the various forms one can create in Project Shapeshifter, based on the pre-existing templates.

The default Cube template will be active by default. There is a filmstrip of allowing you to choose from 38 patterns to the bottom of the web browser, to apply to the object.

Below are the different patterns which can be applied, and their effects:

The various forms one can choose from, takes place from the templates tab to the top of the web browser. There are 12 forms to choose from.

A snake form was chosen. One can now start to modify basic settings applicable to this form, or even move to more advanced settings. One can even decide what the form geometry will look like: Based on a circle, half circle, triangle, etc.

The best feature for me would be the Randomize function. You will get random forms with a random pattern and random template applied. This shapeshifter model can then be downloaded in either a *.obj file format, or *.stl file format. With a quick file format conversion in 3ds Max to ACIS Sat, the concept is useable in Revit.

Walls and Curtain Systems were applied to the form faces, to generate quite an interesting structure:

Going Green – Green Architecture

Building and construction have a great effect on the environment. In the United States, buildings alone account for 40-49% energy consumption, 25% of water consumption, 70% of total energy consumption and 38% of total carbon dioxide emissions.

What is green building?

Also known as sustainable architecture it essentially means building and architecture that is considerate towards the environment. This consideration can range from, building home with special materials such as straw bale, using efficient products and recycled materials within your home, planning land use and monitoring and improving indoor air quality.

There are several ways, which are not considered experimental anymore, in which home owners and builders can create environmentally responsible buildings. Mainstream approaches include using eco friendly products wherever possible; harvesting rain water and using natural light harnessing solar energy. Using raw materials that are rapidly renewable such as cork, linoleum and bamboo or locally manufactured products to save on energy consumed during transportation are also options at an individual level.

Green Countries

Australia

The Green Building Council of Australia has outlined a green building standard known as the Green Star. The most recent recipient of the 6 Green Star award was The Australian Ethical Investment Ltd’s refurbished office space in Trevor Pearcey House, Canberra. The total cost of the renovation of this building was $1.7 million, and produced an estimated 75% reductions in carbon dioxide emissions, 75% reduction in water usage, and used over 80% recycled materials. The architects were Collard Clarke Jackson Canberra, architectural work done by Kevin Miller, interior design by Katy Mutton.

Australia also has a system to improve energy efficiency of residential buildings called First Rate. Environmental consciousness has rapidly grown in Melbourne, the government offers subsidies and rebates for water tanks, water efficient products (such as shower heads) and solar hot water systems. The city is home to many examples of green buildings and sustainable development such as the CERES Environmental Park. Another one is EcoLinc in Bacchus Marsh. Two of the most prominent examples of green commercial buildings in Australia are located in Melbourne — 60L and Council House 2 (also known as CH2).

Canada

For new buildings built after the year 2000, Canada has implemented “R-2000” in an effort to increase energy efficiency and promote sustainability. Incentives are offered to builders to meet this standard.

Examples of green buildings include Beamish-Munro Hall at Queen’s University built by sustainable construction methods such as high fly-ash concrete, triple-glazed windows, dimmable fluorescent lights and a grid-tied photovoltaic array. And the Gene H. Kruger Pavilion at Laval University which was built using largely non polluting, non toxic, recycled and renewable materials as well as advanced bioclimatic concepts that reduce energy consumption by 25% compared with a concrete building of the same dimensions. The structure of the building is made entirely out of wood products, thus further reducing the environmental impact of the building.

Germany

Green buildings in Germany

The Solarsiedlung (Solar Village) in Freiburg, Germany

The Vauban development, also in Freiburg

Houses designed by Baufritz

The new Reichstag building in Berlin

India

The CII is the central pillar of the Indian Green Building Council or IGBC and plays a major role in the promotion of green building in the Indian construction sector. The IGBC has licensed the LEED Green Building Standard from the U.S. Green Building Council and currently is responsible for certifying LEED-New Construction and LEED-Core and Shell buildings in India. All other projects are certified through the U.S. Green Building Council. There are many energy efficient buildings in India, situated in a variety of climatic zones.

Israel

Israel has recently implemented a voluntary standard for “Buildings with Reduced Environmental Impact” 5281, based on a point rating system (55= certified 75=excellence) and is coupled with complementary standards 5282-1 5282-2 for energy analysis and 1738 for sustainable products provides a system for evaluating environmental sustainability of buildings. Recently at the Intel Development Center in Haifa the United States Green Building Council LEED rating system had been implemented. Many other buildings have successfully implemented this standard and an industry wide movement is in place to introduce an Israeli version of LEED in the very near future.

Malaysia

The Standards and Industrial Research Institute of Malaysia (SIRIM) promotes green building techniques. Malaysian architect Ken Yeang is a prominent voice in the area of ecological design.

New Zealand

The New Zealand Green Building Council has been in formation since July 2005. After a few organizational changes and the appointment of Jane Henley as CEO a positive movement began. In July 2006 the first full board was appointed with 12 members reflecting wide industry involvement. The several major milestones were achieved in 2006/2007; becoming a member of the World GBC, the launch of the Green Star NZ — Office Design Tool, and welcoming our member companies.

US

The United States Green Building Council (USGBC) has developed The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building rating system, which is the nationally and internationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. The Green Building Initiative is a non-profit network of building industry leaders working to mainstream building approaches that are environmentally progressive, but also practical and affordable for builders to implement. The GBI has developed a web-based rating tool called Green Globes, which is being upgraded in accordance with ANSI procedures. The United States Environmental Protection Agency’s EnergyStar program rates commercial buildings for energy efficiency and provides EnergyStar qualifications for new homes that meet its standards for energy efficient building design.

Washington became the first state in the United States to enact green building legislation, in 2005. Accordingly, all major public agency facilities with a floor area exceeding 5,000 square feet (465 m²), including state funded school buildings, are required to meet or exceed LEED standards in construction or renovation. The projected benefits from this law are 20% annual savings in energy and water costs, 38% reduction in waste water production and 22% reduction in construction waste.

Charlottesville, Virginia became one of the first small towns in the United States to enact green building legislation. This presents a significant shift in construction and architecture as LEED regulations have formerly been focused on commercial construction.

UK

The Association for Environment Conscious Building (AECB) has promoted sustainable building in the UK since 1989. The UK Building Regulations set requirements for insulation levels and other aspects of sustainability in building construction. Copied from Architectural Evangelist.

Design Options and Phases of Revit

This post assumes you already have some exposure to the Parts tools or that you think the Split Face and Paint tools are the only tools available for defining scope of materials.

MORE CONTAINERS: Think of the Parts tool as yet another container… an instance of a family is duplicated in two containers… (Original vs. Parts).

USING SPLIT FACE AND PAINT: Parts are a nice alternative to using the split face and paint tools, a workflow that, in my experience, does not behave well with changes to the main model and other Design Option sets. Split face sketches can get deleted (or moved) and painted surfaces can, often without warning, bleed onto adjacent faces.

PARTS REDUNDANCY: Create Parts from an original wall. You will end up with two walls in two separate containers (Original vs. Parts). Keep in mind that Parts, Design Options, and Phase containers are nice in that clash errors do not occur when used properly. Try using your Workset containers to study design options and you’ll run into many clashes/warnings.

Parts (or layers) of a wall, floor, roof, ceiling and other categories can be:

DIVIDED for breaking up layers of a walls, floors, etc. (ex. for defining variable finishes on an elevation/plan)

EXCLUDED for very specific scope of finish applications (ex. where wall finish meets a sloping grade)

DEMOLISHED for removal of existing finishes to make way for a new finishes

THE BEST PARTS (no pun intended): Add the original wall to two or more design options and you will find that you can now divide, exclude, and demo parts… within Design Option containers!

If you are just replacing the finish layer for a remodel consider dividing the finish into two parts, reshaping them both to the shape of the original… it’s ok if the finishes overlap 😉 and set their demo/create parameters as independent of the original. “Show Shape Handles” to change the thickness of your proposed finish.

Every view can be set to “Show Original,” “Show Parts,” or “Show Both.”

Show both is quite nice when the Parts category in Object Styles is set to line weight (1) for projection AND cut and your plan view is set to “coarse”. The Object Styles of Original elements will override the Object Styles of Parts “when both are present” so don’t feel like you have to pick one or the other.

This in mind, you can also combine solid and line patterns when you “Show Both”. Try making your Original material solid fill grey and your Part material any line pattern. This works in cut and projection 😉 Reference Design Options and Phases: Post #2 by David.

Revit Devil’s Fork Fencing

TIA – This Is Africa: A quote I believe made infamous by the blockbuster Blood Diamond. This entry will focus on another unfortunate TIA necessity here in South Africa: Security. Most residential developments are now taking place in Security Complex’s, as it provides some kind of (false, in my opinion) confidence that the chance of crime occurring at your premises are less likely.

None the less, let’s turn a negative into a positive. Why not model the typical middle-class South African security barrier – Devil’s Fork Fencing, in Revit? Following the layout of a previous blog post: Parametric Revit Scaffolding, the first image will focus on the different component types a Devil’s Fork fence segment is typically made of.

Taj Mahal

Described as “a tear on the face of eternity” by Rabindranath Tagore, it is not just a monument but truly a matchless piece of art. It is unparalleled in magnificence and architecture when judged against other monuments built during the Mughal age.

The Taj Mahal in Agra is without a doubt the most celebrated paradigm of Mughal architecture. Described as “a tear on the face of eternity” by Rabindranath Tagore, it is not just a monument but truly a matchless piece of art. The Taj Mahal is famous architectural wonder. Built in 1648 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in reminiscence of his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal, it is unparalleled in magnificence and architecture when judged against other monuments built during the Mughal age. In fact it outshines the other wonders in the world as an exceptional piece of architecture. Above all, Taj Mahal has stood the test of time. Perhaps this is why Taj Mahal is India’s most famous architectural wonder.

It is inspired by the Persian architecture; Taj is a great amalgamation of Indian and Persian designs. Ustad Isa, an Indian architect of Persian lineage is thought to be the man who turned a dream called Taj into reality.

The first thing that comes to the mind is the dome that stands protected by the four minarets on each of the four sides of the main monument Each minaret is almost 40 meters tall and tapers as we go up. The positioning of these minarets with respect to the main structure, is one of the finest instance of the architectural genius. The minarets are built in such a way that each minaret to some extent is inclined towards the outer side, so as to keep away from any damages in case of earthquake.

The tomb is higher than a modern day 20-storey building was completed with a labor force of 20,000. Artisans from as far as Turkey and Iran got together to give Taj life. The white marble used, was mined at Makrana in Rajasthan. Precious stones were imported from Punjab, Baghdad, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and Afghanistan. The Taj Mahal contains 16 chambers, with eight chambers each on the two levels, that enclose the octagonal burial chamber surmounted by a inner dome. The mausoleum that stands on the platform is square in shape. Each of its side is 56.6 m long with a large central arch bordered by two pointed arches. All the corners have small domes while in the centre rises the main double dome which is crowned by a brass finial. The exterior adornment is calligraphy, skillfully carved panels and marvelous inlay work in the form of perfectly symmetrical floral patterns which cover the face of the white marble.

The beauty of the main landscape is heightened by a red sandstone channel placed between strings of cypress trees. The main entry is from the west, but there also exist two other entrances -from the east and from the west. The core gateway is a large three-storey sandstone entity with an octagonal central chamber. The walls are decorated with verses from the Quran.

The patterned gardens are planned with consideration to the classical Mughal ‘char bagh’ style. Two marble canals studded with fountains, lined with cypress trees stemming from the central, raised pool across the centre of the garden, separating it into four equal squares. The trait to be taken in account here is that the garden is planned in such a way that it maintains perfect symmetry.

BIM: Bringing a “sea change to the industry’s workflow”

BIM or Building Information Modeling is bringing about new methodologies and possibilities for all the industry players, from designers and contractors through to citizens, end users, communities and public authorities.

Following an EU directive in 2014 recommending the use of electronic tools such as building information electronic modelling for public works contracts and design contests, BIM will be rolled out in the UK in 2016 and Germany in 2018. The Netherlands, Finland, Denmark and Norway have already adopted it, whilst in France, the Housing Minister recently announced that it will be mandatory for public procurement as from 2017.

BIM or building 2.0, from design to demolition

“Building Information Modeling (BIM) is an integrated process for exploring a project’s key physical and functional characteristics digitally before it’s built, helping to deliver projects faster and more economically, while minimizing environmental impact,” explains Paul Sullivan*, Senior Public Relations Manager at Autodesk, the company that conceptualised and developed BIM. He goes on: “Coordinated, consistent information is used throughout the process to design innovative projects, better visualize and simulate real-world appearance, performance and cost, and create more accurate documentation.” All the team members input data throughout the project, facilitating communication and project delivery.

A simpler definition is provided by the National Institute of Building Sciences, quoted on WSP*: “A digital representation of physical and functional characteristics of a facility… and a shared knowledge resource for information about a facility forming a reliable basis for decisions during its life-cycle; defined as existing from earliest conception to demolition.”

BIM: the entire life cycle of the building and all the players

But BIM isn’t confined to the design and coordination phase: it covers the entire building life cycle and ecosystem, including urban infrastructures, equipment and services. As such, BIM involves everyone from architects and contractors to suppliers of products, technologies and services, citizens and end users, communities and public authorities.

This week in Paris, a dedicated expo called BIM World* is being organised for the very first time (25th and 26th March) and attended by players from across the building industry.

BIM: bringing building into the age of data and digital

A description of the challenges and potential of BIM on the website of this new BIM event highlights the vital importance of data: “Technologies such as 3D, augmented or virtual reality, GIS, Big Data, Open Data, Cloud storage and smart grids are now interfaced with digital models of buildings and infrastructure, opening up new possibilities in innovation and service.” And all this data is designed to make cost savings throughout the lifecycle of the building: design, construction, maintenance and use through to demolition.

New skills and jobs

Recruitment consultants recommend that professionals across the industry update their skills and IT tools in order to incorporate the new working methods and tools associated with BIM. A number of universities currently offer MSc courses in Building Information Modeling, and BIM Manager is increasingly featuring on job sites.

According to recruitment firm Hays, the typical BIM Manager has a background in engineering or architecture who’s at home with IT tools and had a sound understanding of virtual building and documentation systems. A BIM Manager reports to and works closely with the Technical Project Manager, overseeing the BIM project, which involves holding coordination meetings and drafting reports on interferences between the different copies of the model.

Fighting the Wind – How We Contribute to Natural Disasters

We build our houses as boxes, primarily rectangular boxes of varying sizes and shapes. But boxes have lousy geometry when it comes to shedding wind forces. Why aren’t we building residential construction that is more aerodynamic?

We build our houses as boxes, primarily rectangular boxes of varying sizes and shapes. But boxes have lousy geometry when it comes to shedding wind forces. Here is a new concept to fight against the force of wind – Aerodynamic Architecture!

This past year we have seen the destructive power of wind particularly from tornadoes in, for example, Joplin, Missouri and Tuscaloosa Alabama. We also had hurricane Irene that impacted long stretches of the East Coast. In the aftermath of the tornadoes there was the usual call for stronger building standards to make residential construction safer to minimize damage and loss of life. We have heard such calls before, such as when strong hurricanes have wreaked havoc in Florida and neighboring states. And there have been improvements over the years in building standards even if they have been more modest than needed.

But there is something missing from this discussion; a question we are not asking. Why aren’t we building residential construction that is more aerodynamic? Yes, aerodynamic like we have been doing with our automobiles. We have been making our cars more aerodynamic for a long time, primarily to improve fuel mileage. Compare the Ford Model T to today’s Ford Focus. They are significantly different in shape and ability to shed wind.

Our houses are not unlike the Model T. We build them as boxes, primarily rectangular boxes of varying sizes and shapes. But boxes have lousy geometry when it comes to shedding wind forces. They expose lots of surface area and flat walls can catch the full force of wind causing damage and destruction. And they often have long roof overhangs, section add-ons and wind catching ornamentation. A streamlined home presents lower wind resistance or better “coefficient of drag”, to borrow a term usually applied to automobiles.

And that is a good thing when it comes to hurricanes and tornadoes. But it is not the only benefit. Better geometry can also lower surface area to volume enclosed, reducing energy for heating and cooling. And by reducing or eliminating sharp corners, which concentrate forces, there is potential to reduce seismic loads on our buildings in earthquake country.

But what geometric shape or shapes should we be using for our homes to make them more aerodynamic, recognizing that most people aren’t going to live in geodesic domes. We can take some cues from nature, which doesn’t build boxes, but does have to deal with wind and other forces. Whether it’s the honeybee, who builds with hexagons, the nautilus that uses circular spirals or birds that construct hemispherical abodes, there are many forms that could be adapted to residential construction, some are fairly tame and others more radical. These many different shapes offer the potential for safer and more environmentally benign homes potentially fostering a creative new aesthetic. That could move us beyond the conventional “plywood nostalgia box” we are so emotionally attached to and seem reluctant to give up.

Our preferences in home design are not innate; they are learned. And there is precedent for shifting to different aesthetics from what we grew up with. We see that in our clothes, in furniture and in our beloved cars, just to cite a few examples. But we have to recognize that there is a need to shift before we can create the opportunity to do it. We may have to take a lesson from the energy crisis of several decades ago when we began the march to more fuel-efficient cars. It doesn’t have to come from a government mandate. But more aerodynamic houses should be in our future. Better energy efficiency, safer homes, less earthquake risk are some of the reasons to change. We just need to think outside the box. Copied into Architectural Evangelist.

The Revit Catacomb

“Without change there is no innovation, creativity, or the incentive for improvement. Those who initiate change will have a better opportunity to manage the change that is inevitable” – William Pollard

This entry is based on a mobile android game called SoulCraft, developed by MobileBits. As I was playing the game, I entered the Egyptian tomb level and I thought: It might be a fun exercise to recreate this Egyptian tomb in Revit.

Below are two screenshots of the level’s environment, using my cellphone’s screenshot function:

Based on the latter images, a mock catacomb was created with the following rendered result:

The burial niches were created as Generic Model families, with the Family Category changed to Window when it was complete. Due to the category change, it was possible to add an opening cut to the niches. A recessed light source was also placed above the niches for illuminating the opening, and respective sarcophagi. I was able to etch the Egyptian symbols into the tapered column by sketching it out using voids.

Splitting the floor face enabled me to apply two materials to each segment to indicate the different floor finishes. The trim around the wall niches were created using an in-place sweep.

Enabling the Light Sources in a realistic view, provided a good indication of how the light distribution would look in the rendering.

Often Overlooked By Revit Beginners

One of my earliest posts focused on little tools that are often overlooked by beginners. I thought I’d revisit this topic now that I’ve had more experience working with Revit Beginners. Here are a few more tips that beginners are often not aware of:

1. Wall Location Lines. The location line is kind of an anchor point for a wall. When you flip a wall (ie. change its orientation) the wall will flip about its location line. So if you wanted to flip a wall without affecting its position you could make the wall’s centerline its location line as well. Location line is controled in a wall’s Instance Properties. Some of your choice settings for the location of the location line include face of core, face of finish, wall centerline, etc. When a wall is selected you might notice two blue dots at either end of the wall. Grab this blue dot and stretch the wall to any length you want. You might also notice that when you change the location line of a wall this blue dot will relocate, reflecting your newly chosen location line.

2. How do I fillet two walls (or lines). A common thing for beginners, is to go right to the trim tool in search of a fillet option (because they are likely more familiar with AutoCAD). Well in Revit the fillet tool is located elsewhere. If you are drawing a wall or a line there is a pallet of line shapes that you can draw (square, polygon, circle, arc, etc.) Well fillet is one of those options circled below.

3. Stretching a gridline in the current view only. When working with gridlines for the first time a beginner will often take notice that stretching the end bubble of a gridline stretches the grid in all views globally. The next question they ask is, “How can I stretch it for this view only?” Well there is a little icon next to a grid bubble that reads “3D.” Click on the icon and you’ll notice that it now reads “2D.” You are now free to strech the gridline for the current view only. The location of the original 3D grid bubble is at the hollow circle you see below.

4. How do I host my railing on a ramp or stair?: Ok, so you’ve sketch a new ramp or stair and you want to add a railing to it, but the railing is resting on the first floor and doesn’t slope with your ramp or stair. Well, when you’re in sketch mode shaping your new railing path, there is a tool called “Set Railing Host.” Select this tool and then select your host (stair or ramp). Your railing will now slope with the host as was your original intention. Remember, the railing tool is located on the Home tab and is its own sketch. Do not try editing the sketch of your stair or ramp to add new railings. I’ve seen beginners try this alot.

Revit LED Striplight Creation Tutorial

As per Greg Hayslett’s request for a tutorial on the creation of a previous blog post: Revit LED Striplights, herewith the steps to create it using both the Generic Line Based method, as well as the Railing method.

Method 1: Strip Light as Line Based Family

Step 1: We need to create two families, the first being a Metric Line Based family. Create a new family based on the Metric Generic Model Line Based family template.

Step 2: Create a Sweep by picking the Reference Line as the path. Create a 10mm radius circle profile to represent the LED tube. You can either now choose a Material for the tube, or Associate the Material parameter. This will allow you to change the tube material in the project environment.

Step 3: We need a light source to embed (Or nest) inside of the line based family. Create a new family based on the Metric Lighting Fixture family template.

Step 4: Select the Light Source and change the Light Source Definition’s Shape Emittance to Line, and the Light Distribution to Spherical.

Step 5: Load the Lighting Fixture family into the Line Based Family. Select the light source and edit the Type Properties. Change the Initial Intensityunder the Photometrics area to 2.00 Watt. Set the Initial Colour as per your preference.

Step 6: Here is the trick: If you have a straight ceiling line, you will be able to draw a LED tube segment according to the correct size, and create either an array (Cringe) or copy it along the straight path. When you get to a curved ceiling line, you will have to use either the Inscribed- orCircumscribed PolygonDraw tool. We can create a maximum of 32 individual line based segments per polygon draw command. Any unnecessary LED tube segments can be deleted if required.

When enabling the Light Source checkbox in the Visibility Graphics command for Lighting Fixtures, you will be able to see the “representation” of light diffusion

Method 2: Strip Light as Railing Family

Step 1: Create a new family based on the Metric Profile family template

Step 2: Using the Line command, create a 5mm radius profile to indicate the LED tube.

Step 3: For the light source, create a new family based on the Metric Baluster Panel family template.

Step 4: Nest the previously created Lighting Fixture Light Source family (Method 1 – Line based family) into the Metric Baluster Panel family. Position the Lighting Fixture family accordingly.

Step 5: Load the Metric Baluster Panel family, as well as the Rail Profile family into your project. Start the Railing command and duplicate a Railingtype. Re-name the railing as Striplight_Railing or similar. Edit the Type Properties of the Striplight_Railing family and edit the Rails. Add a Rail using the Rail Profile family, with a specified offset, using the Plastic, Transparent Autodesk Revit material.

Step 6: Now it’s time to add the baluster (Light Source) to the rail. Edit the Balusters and change the Baluster Family to the previously created Metric Baluster Panel family. You will have to change the Distance From Previous value to get a perfect render representation. I found that in the prvious post, a value of 230mm gave an acceptable result. Remember to set the Posts area for Start Post, Corner Post, and End Post to None.

You will now be able to sketch the railing path using any of the drawing tools you want. Remember to set the Base Offset of the rail to the requiredBase Offset.

Note that if you set the Top Rail option in the rail Type Properties to None, your rail will “break”. The best bet would be to hide the Top Rail per construction view required.

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